Buck bullish over Blues profits

Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck believes ambitious plans for commercial expansion will help the club continue to meet the requirements of Financial Fair Play after they recorded a profit for the second time in three years.

Figures released on Thursday show the Stamford Bridge side made a profit of £18.4million – the largest surplus during Roman Abramovich’s 11-year ownership – in the financial year ending June 2014.

Turnover increased for the fifth successive year to stand at a record £319.8million, up from £255.8m for the previous 12 months.

The results – following the £1.4m profit generated two years ago – ensure the club continues to satisfy UEFA’s break-even criteria under the FFP regulations.

“The club is naturally pleased to record a significant profit for 2013-14,” said Buck.

“By reaching the Champions League semi-final and maintaining a challenge in the Premier League until the final week of the season we demonstrated that, while improving our financial figures, we remained competitive in football’s toughest club competitions.

“We financed player purchases from sales as the squad for this current season was shaped and our philosophy since Mr Abramovich acquired the club in 2003 has been to build upon success on the pitch.

“That is evident in the partnerships we signed and in our fanbase growth which contributed to the new record turnover figure and the profit made.

“We have done all of this at the same time as creating one of the world’s leading football community programmes through the Chelsea Foundation.

“Going forward we have ambitious plans to build a pioneering global commercial programme, partnering with innovative and market-leading organisations from around the world.

“In the era of FFP, we must progress commercially to continue the circle of success to invest in the team and get results.”

Improved commercial activity, the new Premier League broadcasting deal and a significant surplus on player sales during the 12-month period contributed to the profit.

In a statement Chelsea, who pointed out ticket prices had been frozen at 2011-12 levels, said increased turnover demonstrated: “business growth continues in seasons without trophy success as well as in years when silverware is won”.

The statement continued: “In the past year we have signed new partnerships with Rotary, Hackett, Coral, William Lawson’s, Indosat and Guangzhou R&F Football Club.

“The latest financial results combined with those from the previous two years mean that for the second monitoring period for FFP we will fall comfortably within the limits set by UEFA, who measure expenditure against the income from football-related activities.

“Chelsea also complied with FFP criteria over the first monitoring period.”